Show 42: The Inane Chicanery of a Certain Adam GC Riches

I first heard of Adam Riches after he won the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2011, and had half-kept an eye of his work, including the occasional BBC Radio comedy show. He strongly incorporates audience interaction in his shows. Audience interaction itself is a dangerous game, but Riches seemed to have generally got away with it. However I had never been that enticed from his radio work to see what he had to offer live. In 2017, though, I thought I should finally give him a go.

In a surprisingly half-empty Queen Dome, Riches starts off energetically miming jazz piano as it’s played over the speakers and the audience timidly files in. There’s no way of knowing what exactly we’ve let ourselves in for.

This show was a breath-taking display of genius and fun, one of the most memorable shows of 2017 for sure. Riches has made audience participation an art and his enthusiasm and ability to pick the right audience meant that the stars of the show weren’t his characters but the unwitting volunteers themselves. From the supposedly expert army commander to the two audience members trying to skate over riches in a hastily prepared jump to the couple writing a love letter to each other using ketchup on Riches’ enlarged white shirt (one of the funniest moments came when Riches started interviewing the lady, an American, and how she ended up with an Englishman – when she, in the midst of genuine laughter at the whole scenario, said she broke up with her ex due to physical abuse, the look of shock and terror on Riches face followed by a loud, tense “oh I am not qualified to deal with this” just showed his exceptional sense of comic performance).

Despite the half-filled room, this was a hilarious hour of beautiful, well-considered, carefully planned comedy that brought a sense of joy and fun to the room.

Adam Riches is doing three different shows at the Festival this year – it’ll be interesting to see what the hell he’s done with himself.

Score: 10/10

Venue: Pleasance Dome